System for Providing Location-Based Services in a Wireless Network, Such as Locating Sets of Desired Locations

ABSTRACT

A system and associated method receives a command from a user&#39;s mobile device to locate points of interest near the mobile device&#39;s location. The points of interest are associated with different, user-identified, point of interest categories. Based at least in part on the mobile device&#39;s location, the system substantially simultaneously provides a list of points of interest for at least some of the point of interest categories.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.10/984,618, filed Nov. 8, 2004, which claims the benefit of U.S.Provisional Application 60/562,785, filed Apr. 15, 2004, entitled“SYSTEM FOR PROVIDING LOCATION-BASED SERVICES IN A WIRELESS NETWORK,SUCH AS LOCATING SETS OF DESIRED LOCATIONS”, which is herebyincorporated by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

“Here am I?” “Where are you?” “Where is it?” are questions often asked,but not always easily answered. Global positioning system (GPS) andsimilar location determining devices have allowed users to locatethemselves on our planet. Together with mapping software, the GPSnetwork allows users to identify themselves with respect to landmarks,streets, and the like. These and other location determining systems havebeen used with vehicles (often referred to as “telematics”).

Such telematic systems help users identify where their vehicles are withrespect to an electronic map to determine directions to a location. Auser can input a destination on such telematic systems, and mappingsoftware (often stored in the vehicle with a database of maps) helpsdetermine an appropriate route for the vehicle using an associated GPSdevice. The mapping software and associated maps may include lists ofaddresses or points of interest (POI's) to which the system may computea route.

Fleet tracking systems or automatic vehicle location (AVL) systems allowa central location to track the locations of various vehicles in afleet, where each vehicle includes an onboard system having wirelesscircuitry to provide the position of a vehicle in the fleet to thecentral location. Examples of such systems are provided by, for example,Qualcomm of San Diego, Calif.

Certain services, such as Maps.com, allow users to access a largedatabase of maps and request directions or routes from a starting pointto an ending point. If a user has a wireless, Internet-enabled device,such as a wireless palmtop computer, the user may then access such mapsand associated directions wirelessly. Still, there is a need forimproved location-based services and systems.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a suitable system for employinglocation-based services under embodiments of the invention.

FIGS. 2 through 12 are user interface flow diagrams for allowing a userof the system of FIG. 1 to locate sets of desired locations.

FIG. 13 is a data diagram illustrating a table for use by the system ofFIG. 1.

FIG. 14 is a data diagram illustrating a table for categories of a givenuser-defined set.

FIG. 15 is a block diagram of a suitable mobile device.

The headings provided herein are for convenience only and do notnecessarily affect the scope or meaning of the claimed invention.

In the drawings, the same reference numbers identify identical orsubstantially similar elements or acts. To easily identify thediscussion of any particular element or act, the most significant digitor digits in a reference number refer to the Figure number in which thatelement is first introduced (e.g., block 1202 is first introduced anddiscussed with respect to FIG. 12).

A portion of this disclosure contains material to which a claim forcopyright is made. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimilereproduction by anyone of the patent disclosure (including Figures), asit appears in the United States Patent and Trademark Office patent fileor records, but reserves all other copyright rights whatsoever.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Described in detail below is a system and associated method that allowsusers to locate groups or sets of businesses, points of interest (POI's)or other locations, and manage this information in a user-friendlyenvironment. A user with a wireless device, such as a cellular phone,may identify the locations of user-defined sets of locations and receivedirections to a desired location. Indeed, aspects of the system allow auser to automatically identify in one action or few steps, the locationsof a user-specified set of locations, such as restaurants, coffee shops,convenience stores, etc.

Under a set finding function, sometimes referred to as “My 5 Nearby,” auser can establish a set or list of categories of points of interest,and automatically find the nearest listing for each of these points ofinterest with a single click on a mobile device. The user can createseveral of these sets and load one at will. For example, a given set mayhave points of interest including restaurants, automatic teller machines(ATMs), supermarkets, parks, and coffee shops. Then, with a single clickor user selection, the system automatically locates the nearestrestaurant, ATM, supermarket, park, and coffee shop with respect to theuser's current location.

The system uses a location determination method to determine the user'slocation, searches a database of Points of Interest, and determines thenearest listing in each category in the user-defined set. The databasereturns the name and/or other information regarding each nearestlisting, and provides this information to the user's mobile device. Theuser can click on a listing to get more detailed information, such asaddress, phone number (if applicable), and so forth. The user can thenalso view a list of the next closest points of interest in each categoryand so on, until there are no more listings in a given area based on apredefined search area or radius. Various other features are describedin detail herein.

In a broad sense, embodiments of the invention relate to location-basedservices in a system for providing wireless telecommunications servicesto mobile devices. The system can receive a command from a user's mobiledevice to locate points of interest near the mobile device's location.The points of interest are associated with different, user-identified,point of interest categories. Based at least in part on the mobiledevice's location, the system substantially simultaneously provides alist of points of interest for at least some of the point of interestcategories.

The invention will now be described with respect to various embodiments.The following description provides specific details for a thoroughunderstanding of, and enabling description for, these embodiments of theinvention. However, one skilled in the art will understand that theinvention may be practiced without these details. In other instances,well-known structures and functions have not been shown or described indetail to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the description of theembodiments of the invention.

The terminology used in the description presented below is intended tobe interpreted in its broadest reasonable manner, even though it isbeing used in conjunction with a detailed description of certainspecific embodiments of the invention. Certain terms may even beemphasized below; however, any terminology intended to be interpreted inany restricted manner will be overtly and specifically defined as suchin this Detailed Description section.

A representative system to implement functionality described herein willfirst be described. Thereafter, a representative user interface andlocation-based functionality is described. Finally, representative datastructures and suitable mobile devices are described.

Representative System

Referring to FIG. 1, a system 100 is shown where a wireless device ormobile unit 102 (such as a 2.5 G GPRS-enabled mobile handset)communicates wirelessly to a 2.5 G uplink 104. A typical 2.5 G uplink104 includes multiple components not shown, such as (in order), a basetransceiver station (BTS), a base station controller (BSC), and in aGeneral Packet Radio Service (GPRS), a Gateway Serving GPRS Support Node(SGSN), a GPRS wide area network (WAN), a Gateway GPRS Support Node(GGSN), a wireless access protocol (WAP) gateway, and other componentsknown by those skilled in the relevant art. Further details regarding asuitable system for implementing functionality described herein may befound in commonly assigned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/324,984,filed Dec. 20, 2002, entitled, “System For Providing Location-BasedServices In A Wireless Network, Such As Locating Individuals AndCoordinating Meetings” (Attorney Docket No. 101948084US2). Of course,while a 2.5G network and wireless device are shown, embodiments of theinvention may be used in various other wireless systems.

Through the uplink 104 and public switched telephone network 106 themobile unit 102 may communicate with a landline phone 108, using knownmeans. Likewise, the mobile unit can access a data network, such as theInternet 110 to access content provided by a web server 112 from adatabase 114. While two separate networks 106 and 110 are shown, asingle network may be provided, or more than two networks provided tothe mobile unit 102. Further, the mobile unit 102 may access numerousother services and systems via the system 100.

A location server 116 provides much of the functionality describedbelow. While shown as a single computer, the location server 116 may infact be two or more computers or data processing platforms configured toprovide the functionality described herein. The location server 116communicates with a location database 110 that provides informationregarding points of interest, maps, and the like. Likewise, the locationserver 116 communicates with a user database 120 that stores tables(described below) regarding user preferences, and other user-specificdata, often linked to the user's mobile unit 102.

While a mobile unit or phone is shown in FIG. 1, those skilled in therelevant art will appreciate that the invention can be practiced withother devices and configurations, including Internet appliances,hand-held devices, wearable computers, multi-processor systems,microprocessor-based or programmable consumer electronics, set-topboxes, network PCs, mini-computers, mainframe computers and the like.The invention can be embodied in a special purpose computer or dataprocessor that is specifically programmed, configured or constructed toperform one or more of the computer-executable instructions explained indetail below. Indeed, the term “computer” or “wireless device,” as usedgenerally herein, refers to any of the above devices and systems, aswell as any data processor.

The system 100 performs a routine, described below, that permits a useror subscriber to define one or more types of locations so that the usercan automatically obtain information, such as locations, for a set ofsuch location types. The routine is described below as being executed bythe location server 116 (or related components), which provides displaypages or menus to the mobile unit 102, although much of thefunctionality could be moved to the mobile unit. (The terms “mobileunit,” “mobile device,” and similar terms, are often usedinterchangeably herein.) the routine that may be implemented ascomputer-executable instructions, such as routines executed by ageneral-purpose computer (e.g., a server or personal computer). Suchinstructions may be stored or distributed on computer-readable media,including magnetic and optically readable and removable computer disks,hard-wired or preprogrammed in chips (e.g., EEPROM semiconductor chipsor ASICs), as well as distributed electronically over the Internet orover other networks (including wireless networks). Those skilled in therelevant art will recognize that portions of some embodiments of theinvention may reside on a server computer, while corresponding portionsmay reside on a client computer or wireless device. Data structures andtransmission of data particular to aspects of the invention are alsoencompassed within the scope of the invention. In general, whilespecific hardware platforms, such as the system 100, are describedherein, aspects of the invention are equally applicable to nodes on anetwork having corresponding resource locators or addresses to identifysuch nodes for data routing and requesting execution of commands.

The terms “user” and “subscriber” are used interchangeably, and refer toa given individual employing or otherwise affected by functionality orsystems described herein. A “subscriber” need not necessarily be one whosubscribes to the location-based services described herein. With respectto system functionality, the terms “user,” “subscriber,” and the likeare logically equivalent, and represent any data that the system uses toidentify and manage wireless devices and provide location information.The invention may be used for providing location-based services withrespect to one or more wireless devices in a group or nodes in anynetwork, as well as with respect to POIs.

Representative User Interface And Functionality

Representative user interface screens for displaying information tousers, with associated logic branching and functionality, will now bediscussed with respect to FIGS. 2 through 12. Indeed, FIGS. 2-12, andtheir associated descriptions, describe a routine for implementing thefunctionality described herein. These Figures include examples ofinformation displayed to a user (“display pages”), and examples ofchoices selected by the user. Those skilled in the relevant art willreadily recognize that other examples are possible. Likewise, FIGS. 2through 12 are generally self-explanatory to one skilled in the relevantart (based on the detailed description provided herein). Aspects of someinitial user displays and functionality will be described in detail, butsubsequent displays and functionality may be described in less detail.Those skilled in relevant art will recognize that subsequently discusseddisplays and functionality have much of the same details as thosedescribed previously. While the following discussion describes providinginformation to the user, the server 116 or portal actually provides, viathe uplink 104, a display page for display on the wireless device ormobile unit 102 or other communication to the user.

The display pages may be implemented in Wap, Xml (Extensible MarkupLanguage), Html (Hypertext Markup Language), Handheld Device MarkupLanguage (HDML), Wireless Markup Language (WML), or other language orscripts that provide information to a user. The display pages providefacilities to receive user input data, such as fields to be filled in,one or more numbered items to be selected from menus, hypertext links toselect, displays allowing one or more of several options to be selected,or other known user interface tools for receiving user input. Of course,while one or more ways of displaying information to, and receiving inputfrom, users in pages are shown and described herein, those skilled inthe relevant art will recognize that various other alternatives may beemployed. The terms “screen,” “display page” and “page” are generallyused interchangeably herein.

The display pages are stored as display descriptions, graphical userinterfaces, or as other methods of depicting information on a computerscreen (e.g., commands, links, fonts, colors, layout, sizes and relativepositions, and the like), where the layout and information or content tobe displayed on the page is stored in the database 124 (or otherlocation). In general, a “link” refers to any resource locatoridentifying a resource on a network, such as a display descriptionprovided by an organization having a site or node on the network. A“display description,” as generally used herein, refers to any method ofautomatically displaying information on a display screen in any of theabove-noted formats, as well as other formats, such as email orcharacter/code-based formats, algorithm-based formats (e.g., vectorgenerated), or matrix or bit-mapped formats.

Referring to FIG. 2, the server 116 provides an initial Find Things Menuto the user under block 1202. As shown, the Find Things Menu providesthe user with six options: (1) Find Things Nearby, (2) My 5 Nearby, (3)Take Me Home, (4) Help, (5) Add To My mMode, and (6) Share Page. TheFind Things Menu provides the starting place, and initial branching, foroptions and functions provided to the user.

Many display screens shown in the FIGS. 2 through 12 include similaroptions such as “Help,” “OK,” and “Take Me Home”. Selecting the “Help”option displays for the user one or more screens for aiding the user oranswering questions the user may have. Selecting the “OK” option selectsa given choice or command displayed on the screen. Selecting the “TakeMe Home” option returns the user to the Find Things Menu, or to a mainmenu screen for providing various other functions (not shown). Selectingthe “Add To My mMode” option allows the user to bookmark a given pagefor ready access later, while selecting the “Share Page” option allowsthe user to provide a given page or screen to another user. Detailsregarding the Share Page option may be found in the commonly assignedU.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/821,608 filed Apr. 9, 2004, entitled“Sharing Content On Mobile Devices.”

Many display screens shown in the FIGS. 2-12, and other functionalitydescribed herein, provide specific, suitable values for certainparameters. Those skilled in the relevant art will readily recognizethat system may employ other values. For example, while the system 100is indicated above as being able to locate five locations at a time, analternative system may locate only 3 locations at a time, or may becapable of locating 10 or more simultaneously. Thus, such specificnumbers or values provided herein are only examples, and many othervalues may be employed.

If the user selected either the “Find Things Nearby” or “My 5 Nearby”then in block 204, the system 100 determines which of these two optionsthe user selected. If the user selected the “Find Things Nearby” option,then the routine branches to provide specific options to allow the userto locate a specific thing nearby. Further details regarding this optionmay be found in the above-referenced U.S. patent application bearingapplication Ser. No. 10/324,984. If the user did not select this option,then in block 206, the system determines whether this is the first timethe user has selected the “My 5 Nearby” option. If so, then in block208, the system displays to the user an introduction page. Afterselecting a “continue” option, or if this is not a new user, then theroutine branches block 402 shown in FIG. 4.

Referring to FIG. 4 in block 402, the routine displays a main My 5Nearby menu. As shown, a My Everyday Set menu is listed that includesoptions of: Find All, Restaurants, Bars & Pubs, Coffee Shop, Ice Cream,and Printer. Also displayed are options for My 5 Settings, LocationSettings, Take Me Home, Help, Add To My mMode, and Share Page.

If the user selects one of the listed point of interest (POI)categories, such as Printer, then in block 404, the user may enter thefirst four letters of a preferred place name to find the nearestlocation of that place, or simply click OK. In this example, by clickingOK, the system, in FIG. 3, acquires the user's location under block 302and displays a screen shown in block 304 that indicates to the user thatthe system is searching and that the user's current default range is [X]miles. In block 306, the system executes a point of interest lookup byanalyzing the location database 118. If nothing is found, then thesystem in decision block 308 determines if the user's radius is set to amaximum value, such as 50 miles. If so, then in block 310, the systemdisplays a screen indicating that the maximum range is set and nothingwas located, while providing a series of subsequent options. If themaximum radius is not set, then in block 312, the system displays to theuser different search radii to permit the user to expand the searchradius. As shown in FIG. 3, and in the other figures, by clicking Cancelor OK, as the case may be, the user may return back to the My 5 Nearbymenu shown in block 402 of FIG. 4.

Assuming that the POI lookup does identify one or more POIs in theuser's selected category, then the system displays to the user the foundPOIs. An example of this is shown in block 702 of FIG. 7, with threeseparate printers listed with estimated distances to each. The user mayselect a Add To My mMode option to create a bookmark or other savedrecord, so that the user may readily obtain the search parameters again(block 704). By selecting one of the retrieved and displayed POIs, suchas “Kinko's,” the system retrieves from the POI database 118 detailsregarding the selected location, such as an address and phone number, asshown in block 706. The user may click on the depicted phone number tocall the location (block 708), and the system ends the current datasession under block 710. Alternatively, the user may select a directionsoption to obtain directions for the location in block 712. Thedirections may be one or more screens of text providing step-by-stepdirections from the user's current location to the selected POI, a map,or both.

Referring back to FIG. 4, if the user selects a my 5 settings, then thesystem displays one of the user's previously established POI sets. Asshown in FIG. 8, a My Travel Set is shown, although the system coulddisplay the previously displayed set, namely the My Everyday Set shownin FIG. 4.

Under block 802 of FIG. 8, the user may select a Load Set menu option todisplay under block 804 all sets the user previously created. As shown,the user has created not only the My Travel Set, but also Travel 2 andimpress A Date sets. By selecting one of the sets shown in block 804,the system refreshes the mobile phone with the new set and itsassociated and predefined POIs, and returns back to block 402. The usermay select a Set Range option under block 802, and in block 806, changethe default range, as noted above under block 312.

By clicking on one of the listed POIs in block 802, the user can replacethat POI with another POI category. As shown in FIG. 9, the systemdisplays a list of replacement POIs in block 902. By simply selectingone of these, the user readily replaces an existing Poi category withanother in the user's set (which was previously selected and shown underblock 802). By selecting a More option, an additional set of POIs isdisplayed, such as that shown in block 904. The POI categories listed inblock 902 are those that typically are more popular. The categorieslisted in block 904, and other blocks (not shown) list categoriesalphabetically. Of course, even more POIs may be provided to the user,depending upon limits of data in the POI database 118. Other examples ofpoints of interest include pharmacies, hospitals, fire/police departmentlocations, and other emergency-type locations. (In general, a point ofinterest may be any physical or geographic location.) the systemtypically provides a list of common types of meeting places, as thosedescribed herein. The meeting places are associated with a location orlocation context. The location context need not be an exact streetlocation, but a general area, such as city, state, neighborhood, site(e.g., cell site).

The system may of course find any type of location to satisfy userneeds, such as automotive services (e.g., gas stations, tow services,automotive repair locations, auto dealerships, etc.), financialinstitutions (e.g., banks, automatic teller machines (ATMs), checkcashing locations, etc.), governmental locations (e.g., libraries, postoffices, vehicle/license registration locations, police stations, firedepartments, etc.), travel services (e.g., taxi services, hotels/motels,train stations, etc.), and general consumer services (e.g., laundromats,dry cleaners, grocery stores, convenience stores, newsstands, healthclubs, shopping malls, copy/print stores, etc.).

Each of the categories may be further subdivided. For example, thesystem may provide not only a generic category of “restaurants,” butalso subcategories, such as “fast food restaurants,” “Mexicanrestaurants,” “Japanese restaurants,” and so forth. Other categoriesnoted above may be further subdivided, to thus provide the user withfurther granularity in identifying desired locations or points ofinterest. The number and type of categories are limited by the numberand type of fields or other record designators for POIs in the locationdatabase.

If the user selects a Manage Sets option under block 802, then thesystem provides a list of the user's previously defined sets under block1002 of FIG. 10. By selecting one of the sets, such as the My TravelSet, then in block 1004, the system provides the user with severaloptions. By selecting a Delete option, then in block 1006, the systemconfirms whether the user wishes to delete the selected set. Byselecting a Rename option, then in block 1008, the system displays tothe user the current name of the set in an edit box to allow the user torename the set. If the user selects a edit option, then the selected setis displayed in block 802 of FIG. 8.

If the user selects a Create Set option under block 8002, then thesystem determines in decision block 1102 of FIG. 11 whether the user hasalready defined a maximum number of sets, such as 5. If not, then inblock 1104, the system displays to the user the option to create a newset, and under block 1106 allows the user to name the new set. However,if the user has already defined a maximum number of sets, then in block1108, the system provides such an indication to the user. The user maythen manage the predefined sets and loop back to block 1002 of FIG. 10.

If the user defines a new set under block 1106, then in block 1202 ofFIG. 12, the system provides to the user a screen of empty POI categoryslots. The user may click on one of these slots, and the system in turndisplays a list of categories under block 1204 and 1206, in a mannersimilar to that of FIG. 9. In this way, the user may define a new POIset.

Referring back to FIG. 4, if the user selects a Find All option underblock 402, then in block 406 the system acquires the user's location andperforms a POI lookup in the database 118 to identify the nearest POIfor each of the POI categories defined in the selected and displayed POIset. If nothing is found, then in block 502 of FIG. 5, the systemdisplays to the user an error message and provides additional options.However, if one or more POIs in the categories are found, then in block602 of FIG. 6, the system displays to the user the nearest POI in eachcategory. By selecting one of the depicted POIs, then in block 604 thesystem displays details regarding the POI in a manner similar to thatunder block 706, described above. By selecting a More [POI] option underblock 604, the user may request the system to provide additional POIsbeyond the single nearest one obtained. As a result, the system underdecision block 606 determines whether there are additional listings, andif so, obtains from the database 118 under block 608 the next POIs, orset of POIs, and displays it, or them, in a screen similar to 604 or602, respectively. The user can continue to select the next nearestlocation or set of locations. If no additional listings exist, then inblock 610 the system indicates to the user that the last listing in thePOI category has been found.

Representative Data Structures And Mobile Units

An example of a table, record or other data structure stored in the userdatabase 120 to assist in providing the above functionality will now bedescribed. Referring to FIG. 13, a record 1300 lists a user's POI set,which in the example above is limited to five sets per user. Auser-specified alphanumeric string or title defines or identifies eachset. Each defined set then relates to a series of categories. Referringto FIG. 14, a record 1400 shows five categories that relate to one ofthe POI sets in the record 1300, namely set 1. Under the record 1400,the user identifies between one and five categories of POIs previouslydefined by the system.

While the terms “field” and “record” are used herein, any type of datastructure can be employed. For example, relevant data can have precedingheaders, or other overhead data preceding (or following) the relevantdata. Alternatively, relevant data can avoid the use of any overheaddata, such as headers, and simply be recognized by a certain byte orseries of bytes within a serial data stream. Any number of datastructures and types can be employed herein.

FIG. 15 shows a block diagram of a typical mobile communication device1500 such as a mobile station, wireless device, or the mobile unit 102.The mobile unit 1500 has one or more internal or external antennas 1502for receiving and transmitting electromagnetic signals such as radiofrequency signals. A transceiver 1504 is connected to the antenna 1502and typically provides modulation and demodulation of the transmittedand received signals, respectively. One or more processor units 1506connected to the transceiver 1504 may comprise a signal processor,microprocessor, asic, or other control and processing logic circuitry.The processor unit 1506 may perform signal coding, data processing,input/output processing, power control, and other functions necessaryfor implementing a mobile communication device.

A user may provide input to the processor unit 1506 via a keypad 1508,speaker/microphone 1510, or display/touchpad 1512. In turn, theprocessor 1508 may provide information to the user via thedisplay/touchpad 1512 or speaker/microphone 1510. Additionally, theprocessor 1506 may access information from, and store information in, afixed memory 1514 or a removable memory 1516. The fixed memory 1512 mayconsist of RAM, ROM, a hard disk, or other well-known memory storagetechnologies. The removable memory 1516 may consist of SubscriberIdentity Module (SIM) cards that are well known in GSM communicationsystems or other well-known memory storage technologies. The mobilecommunication device 1500 may also include an optional GPS or otherlocational chipset or receiver 1518 that provides latitude and longitudeinformation about the mobile device's 1500 current location.

In some embodiments of the invention, the mobile device 1500 could storePOI set information in the removable memory 1514 or non-removable memory1512. Such information could include, for example, the list of POIcategories or other data noted above (e.g., search radius range).Indeed, any of the information data structures or records describedabove may be stored in the removable memory 1514. Upon receiving acommand from an input device, such as a keystroke on the keypad 1508,the processor unit 1506 would retrieve or store POI set informationfrom/to the removable memory 1514 or non-removable memory 1512.

If the mobile device 1500 is equipped with the GPS receiver 1518, thedevice may provide to the system latitude and longitude informationabout the mobile device's current location with a find request. Thesystem may then skip certain steps (e.g., block 302) and proceeddirectly to querying the POI database 118.

Many alternatives are possible. For example, a dedicated button orswitch may be provided on the mobile device 1500 to permit the user toreadily perform one or more functions described above, such as locatingall POI categories in a set.

CONCLUSION

A service provider providing the functionality described above mayderive revenue based on kilobyte traffic or usage. For example, eachmessage sent, or corresponding reply, may generate revenue based onsystem usage. Alternatively, or additionally, the service provider mayprovide such functionality on a subscription basis. The service providermay provide premium content or features to users at rates higher thansimple subscription fees for a data plan. For example, a user mayidentify five location types, while a user with premium services mayprovide many more.

Alternatively, or additionally, a service provider providing thefunctionality described above may derive revenue by billing contentproviders for responding to certain user location requests. For example,if a user requests the system to identify the closest McDonalds™., orother name brand retailer, the system may then bill the correspondingretailer for providing such information to the user. Likewise, the usermay request the location of the nearest retailer offering a particulardeal (e.g., a sale on a particular article), and the service providerthen receive a fee from the merchant for providing the information, oreven a fraction of any sale consummated with the user.

The service provider may also obtain revenue on a per use basis. Forexample, each time the user performs a search (e.g., to find the nearestbrand name fast food restaurants), the user may be charged a flat fee.Other fee generating examples may include the user requesting agraphical map of locations or directions, results of a traffic query,etc. Certain businesses could pay to have their locations listed first(or only listed) if they were sufficiently close to a user's location.Further, certain businesses may have specific locator applications. Forexample, a given fast food restaurant could allow the user to readilylocate the nearest location of that restaurant.

Under another alternative, the system can provide richer informationthan simply a location, phone number and directions for the POI. Forexample, the system may provide a small graphic or image of theretrieved POI, provide a short video, animation, advertisement or otheraudiovisual presentation to the user regarding a retrieved location.Many other options are, of course, possible.

As noted above, users can save search requests. Further, if a userwishes to frequently save certain retrieved items, he or she may do so.For example, if a user performs a search and identifies an interestingor compelling restaurant, the user can save the information regardingthat restaurant for later retrieval.

POIs retrieved and displayed to a user are often displayed in increasingorder of distance from the user. However, they could be sorted in otherways, such as alphabetically, based on a fee paid by a given business,and so forth. Once a set is loaded, it becomes the default set to bedisplayed to the user each time. Alternatively, the user can establish adefault set that is always returned to when the user powers off themobile unit, and then powers it back on.

Under an alternate embodiment, the user may establish sublists oflocations (similar to subfolders). Thus, the user can establishhierarchical location lists that include certain upper level groupings(e.g., “travel”), with individual location sets provided in one or moreof these upper level groupings. The user may thus manage lists in amanner similar to that with respect to files and folders under theWindows and other PC operating systems.

Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, throughout thedescription and the claims, the words “comprise,” “comprising,” and thelike are to be construed in an inclusive sense, as opposed to anexclusive or exhaustive sense; that is to say, in the sense of“including, but not limited to.” additionally, the words “herein,”“above,” “below,” and words of similar import, when used in thisapplication, shall refer to this application as a whole and not to anyparticular portions of this application. When the claims use the word“or” in reference to a list of two or more items, that word covers allof the following interpretations of the word: any of the items in thelist, all of the items in the list, and any combination of the items inthe list.

The above detailed description of embodiments of the invention is notintended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise formdisclosed above. While specific embodiments of, and examples for, theinvention are described above for illustrative purposes, variousequivalent modifications are possible within the scope of the invention,as those skilled in the relevant art will recognize. For example, whileprocesses or blocks are presented in a given order, alternativeembodiments may perform routines having steps, or employ systems havingblocks, in a different order, and some processes or blocks may bedeleted, moved, added, subdivided, combined, and/or modified. Each ofthese processes or blocks may be implemented in a variety of differentways. Also, while processes or blocks are at times shown as beingperformed in series, these processes or blocks may instead be performedin parallel, or may be performed at different times. Where the contextpermits, words in the above Detailed Description using the singular orplural number may also include the plural or singular numberrespectively.

The teachings of the invention provided herein can be applied to othersystems, not necessarily the system described herein. The elements andacts of the various embodiments described above can be combined toprovide further embodiments.

All of the above patents and applications and other references,including any that may be listed in accompanying filing papers, areincorporated herein by reference. Aspects of the invention can bemodified, if necessary, to employ the systems, functions, and conceptsof the various references described above to provide yet furtherembodiments of the invention.

These and other changes can be made to the invention in light of theabove Detailed Description. While the above description details certainembodiments of the invention and describes the best mode contemplated,no matter how detailed the above appears in text, the invention can bepracticed in many ways. Details of the wireless location system may varyconsiderably in its implementation details, while still beingencompassed by the invention disclosed herein. As noted above,particular terminology used when describing certain features or aspectsof the invention should not be taken to imply that the terminology isbeing redefined herein to be restricted to any specific characteristics,features, or aspects of the invention with which that terminology isassociated. In general, the terms used in the following claims shouldnot be construed to limit the invention to the specific embodimentsdisclosed in the specification, unless the above Detailed Descriptionsection explicitly defines such terms. Accordingly, the actual scope ofthe invention encompasses not only the disclosed embodiments, but alsoall equivalent ways of practicing or implementing the invention underthe claims.

While certain aspects of the invention are presented below in certainclaim forms, the inventors contemplate the various aspects of theinvention in any number of claim forms. For example, while only oneaspect of the invention is recited as embodied in a computer-readablemedium, other aspects may likewise be embodied in a computer-readablemedium. Accordingly, the inventors reserve the right to add additionalclaims after filing the application to pursue such additional claimforms for other aspects of the invention.

1. In a system for providing telecommunication services between multiplemobile devices and multiple network access points, an apparatuscomprising: at least one location server coupled among at least some ofthe network access points; at least one database coupled with thelocation server, wherein the database includes location informationregarding points of interest, wherein at least some of the points ofinterest are associated with point of interest categories, and whereinthe database further includes point of interest records associated withat least some of the multiple mobile devices, wherein each of the pointof interest records includes at least one user-defined set of two ormore point of interest categories; and wherein the location server isconfigured to: receive a command via one of the network access points,wherein the command is based on a single command from a user's mobiledevice to locate current points of interest closest to a currentgeographic location of the user's mobile device, wherein each of thecurrent points of interest are associated with one of the two or morepoint of interest categories in a point of interest record associatedwith the user's mobile device; obtain the current geographic location ofthe user's mobile device; query the database for location informationfor points of interest that a) are closest to the current geographiclocation of the user's mobile device, and b) are associated with thepoint of interest categories in the user-defined set; provide, to theuser's mobile device, a list of points of interest for each point ofinterest category in the user-defined set that are closest to thecurrent geographic location of the user's mobile device; and provideadditional options to the user based on the list of points of interest.2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the point of interest categoriesinclude restaurants, gas stations, convenience stores, bars, and coffeeshops, wherein querying the database includes obtaining locationinformation for points of interest that are within a user-defined radiusfrom the current geographic location of the user's mobile device, andwherein providing additional options to the user based on the list ofpoints of interest includes providing a menu to the user that permitsthe user to, with a single selection, perform any of the followingfunctions: a) to call a phone number associated with a selected point ofinterest in the list, b) to receive directions to a selected point ofinterest in the list, or c) to obtain a next closest point of interestin the list.
 3. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the location server isconfigured to: permit the user to rename the user-defined set; permitthe user to edit the user-defined set to add, delete or modify at leastone of the point of interest categories; and permit the user to add ordelete any user-defined set.
 4. In a system for providing wirelesstelecommunication services to mobile devices, the method comprising:receiving a command from a user's mobile device to locate points ofinterest near to a location of the user's mobile device, wherein each ofthe points of interest are associated with one of two or more differentand user-identified point of interest categories; automaticallydetermining the location of the user's mobile device; and based at leastin part on the determined location, automatically providing to theuser's mobile device a list of points of interest, wherein the listsubstantially simultaneously presents at least one point of interest forat least some of the different and user-identified point of interestcategories.
 5. The method of claim 4 wherein the list of points ofinterest represent points of interest that are geographically closest tothe location of the user's mobile device, and wherein the method furthercomprises: receiving input from the user's mobile device, and providinga next-closer list of points of interest, wherein the next-closer listsubstantially simultaneously presents at least one point of interest forat least some of the different and user-identified point of interestcategories that are geographically next closest to the location of theuser's mobile device than points of interest in the list of points ofinterest.
 6. The method of claim 4, further comprising providingadditional options to the user based on the list of points of interest,wherein the additional options include: calling a selected point ofinterest in the list, receiving directions to a selected point ofinterest in the list, or obtaining a next closest point of interest inthe list.
 7. The method of claim 4 wherein the point of interestcategories include restaurants, coffee shops, bars/pubs or bookstores.8. The method of claim 4 wherein the point of interest categoriesinclude hospitals, pharmacies, fire departments or healthcare clinics.9. The method of claim 4 wherein the point of interest categoriesinclude sites, parks or geographic points of interest.
 10. The method ofclaim 4, further comprising: displaying the two or more different anduser-identified point of interest categories; receiving user inputselecting one of the categories; and based at least in part on thedetermined location, displaying a list of two or more nearby points ofinterest for the selected category.
 11. The method of claim 4, furthercomprising: receiving a search radius parameter from the user's mobiledevice; and providing a list of points of interest, from at least onepoint of interest category, that are within the search radius parameter.12. The method of claim 4, further comprising: providing, to the user'smobile device, an audio, visual or multimedia message associated with atleast one of the points of interest in the list.
 13. The method of claim4 wherein receiving the command includes receiving the command from asubstantially upper level menu provided to the user's mobile device. 14.A computer-readable medium whose contents cause at least onetelecommunication server to perform a method to provide location-basedservices to at least one telecommunications mobile device, the methodcomprising: at the telecommunications server, receiving from thetelecommunications mobile device a request to locate a list oflocations, wherein the request is associated with a current geographiclocation of the telecommunications mobile device, and wherein the listis associated with multiple and different location categories previouslydefined by a user of the telecommunications mobile device; and at thetelecommunications server, providing for display by thetelecommunications mobile device a current list of locations, whereineach of the locations in the current list is associated with one of themultiple and different user-identified location categories, and whereineach of the locations in the current list is proximate to the currentgeographic location of the telecommunications mobile device.
 15. Thecomputer-readable medium of claim 14 wherein the computer-readablemedium is a memory of the telecommunications server.
 16. Thecomputer-readable medium of claim 14 wherein the computer-readablemedium is a logical node in a computer network receiving the contents.17. The computer-readable medium of claim 14 wherein thecomputer-readable medium is a computer-readable disk.
 18. Thecomputer-readable medium of claim 14 wherein the computer-readablemedium is a data transmission medium carrying a generated data signalcontaining the contents.
 19. The computer-readable medium of claim 14wherein the computer-readable medium is a removable memory.
 20. Thecomputer-readable medium of claim 14 wherein the user may definemultiple lists of points of interest, each with different locationcategories.
 21. A wireless telecommunications apparatus for providing toa user location-based services, the wireless telecommunicationsapparatus comprising: wireless transceiver means; input/output means;and processor means coupled to the wireless transceiver means and to theinput/output means, wherein the processor means includes: means forproviding to a telecommunications server a request for a list oflocations, wherein the means for providing the request requires, from amain menu provided by the input/output means, at most two menu choicesfrom the user of the wireless telecommunications apparatus; and meansfor receiving a current list of locations, wherein each of the locationsin the current list is associated with one of multiple and differentuser-identified location categories, and wherein each of the locationsin the list is proximate to a location of the wirelesstelecommunications apparatus.
 22. The wireless telecommunicationsapparatus of claim 21 wherein the location categories include meetingplaces, healthcare related places, and public points of interest. 23.The wireless telecommunications apparatus of claim 21 wherein thelocation categories include governmental services, healthcare-relatedservices, travel services, financial services, and locations associatedwith at least some of the governmental, healthcare-related, travel, orfinancial services.
 24. The wireless telecommunications apparatus ofclaim 21 wherein the input/output means includes button means having aprimary configuration to request the list of locations when actuated bythe user.
 25. The wireless telecommunications apparatus of claim 21,further comprising memory means, coupled to the processor means, forstoring two or more sets of location categories, wherein each setincludes multiple user-identified location categories.
 26. The wirelesstelecommunications apparatus of claim 21, further comprising locationdetermining means, coupled to the processor means, for determining ageographical location of the wireless telecommunications apparatus. 27.A computer-readable medium whose contents store instructions for atleast one telecommunications server to execute a method, wherein thetelecommunications server provides, or is coupled to a system thatprovides, location-based services to at least one telecommunicationmobile device associated with a subscriber, the method comprising: atthe telecommunications server, receiving from the telecommunicationsmobile device a request to substantially simultaneously locate at leastone occurrence of two or more user-desired types of businesses; at thetelecommunications server, automatically determining a location of thetelecommunications mobile device and providing a response to therequesting telecommunications mobile device, wherein the responseincludes an identification of at least one business for each of theuser-desired types of businesses, and wherein each of the identifiedbusinesses is located near to the location of the telecommunicationsmobile device; and receiving compensation from at least one of theidentified businesses based on the provided response.
 28. Thecomputer-readable medium of claim 27 wherein the compensation includes afraction of any sale consummated by the subscriber at one of theidentified businesses.
 29. The computer-readable medium of claim 27wherein one of the user-desired types of businesses is fast foodrestaurants, coffee shops or bars/pubs.
 30. The computer-readable mediumof claim 27 wherein the least one of the identified businesses is listedfirst or is the only business listed for one of the user-desired typesof businesses.
 31. A computer-readable medium containing a datastructure for use by a wireless system that provides communicationbetween a wireless device and multiple network access points, the datastructure comprising: at least one location-based services datastructure for a wireless device or a user of the wireless device,wherein the location-based services data structure comprises: a firstdata structure representing two or more user-defined sets; andfor eachof the user-defined sets, a second data structure representing two ormore point of interest categories, wherein each of the point of interestcategories is associated with a type of business or a geographiclocation.
 32. The computer-readable medium of claim 31 wherein the firstand second data structures are stored as separate first and secondlocation-based services data structures stored on the wireless system.33. The computer-readable medium of claim 31 wherein a singlelocation-based services data structure stores the first and second datastructures on the wireless device.
 34. The computer-readable medium ofclaim 31 wherein the point of interest categories may includesubcategories.
 35. The computer-readable medium of claim 31, furthercomprising a third data structure representing information regarding atleast one business or geographic location identified based on a queryinvolving one of the two or more point of interest categories.